Method of packaging staples or the like and package produced thereby



April 3, "1928.- 1,665,051

k 'r. A. BRIGGS METHOD OF PACKAGING STAPLES OR THE LIKE AND PACKAGE PRODUCED THEREB? Filed Oct. 1, 1925 Patented Apr. 3,192 8.

a method of packaging wire staples or the UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICE. f

THOMAS A. nurses, or PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, assI GNoR TO BOSTON wms STITCHEB COMPANY, OF PORTLAND,

MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

METHOD OF PACKAGING STAPLES OR THE LIKE AND PACKAGE PRODUCED THEREBY.

Application filed October 1, 1925. Serial No.59,894. I

This invention relates to an improved like and to the package produced thereby.

One object of the invention is to provide amethod of putting up staples or similar fasteners in strips for. convenient handling and transporting, and as a nerchantable. package to supply refills for hand-stapling machines, or for use in the feed magazines of wire-stitching machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. strip or package in 'whichth'e staples are held in alinement in contiguous relation to adapt them to be delivered individually therefrom to the staple-setting mechanism of the "machine. i

Another object of the invention is to provide a staple strip or package which does not require an inner holder or support or an outer wrapper, whereby greater compactness is secured and more convenient applica tion of the staples to the machine is made possible.

Futher objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred method of carrying out theprocess, and a preferredform of the package as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a, perspective view of the 1mpro'ved strip or package of staples;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the same taken in a'medial plane extending longitudinally of the strip; and I V Fig. 3 is an end View ofthe strip.

. The invention consists broadly in 'alining the staples iiwcontiguous relation and (fie-. mcnting or amalgamating them together means of acoating of size, shellac, VflIIllSlI' or other suitable adhe sive medium. Pref-. erably, I employ a thin strip oftissue or; other material on which the staples are strung to aline them in a row, and which strip servesto hold them in place during the application of the coating while further act ing as a base for the adhesive.

Referrin to Fig. 1 of the'drawings, the staples or fasteners 2 may be of any; usual type, and as. here shown are constructed offlat wire, although in other cases they may be formed from round wire. The. common type of staple used in hand-operated ma-- chines employed as oflice appliances, intack" ing machines for attaching tags and labels, 4 and also in wire-stitching machines as api and described.

applied to the top plied to book-binding and kindred arts, is

Various other forms of staples orfasteners are susceptible of the present method of packaging, however, and it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the preclseform of InQpackaging'the staples 2 in a strip they are ahned ma row with the sides of their .legs 3 and cross-bars 4 in parallel contiguous relation as shown in Figs. 1- and 2. Preferably, a thin strip or band 6 of tissue articleherein shown paper, or other light-weight easily frangible material, is laid along the under side of the cross-bars 4 of the staples 2- with its edges folded down at 7t o staples to holdthem from twisting out of 'POSItIO-H. The s rip 6 acts to hold the staples 1n alinement and its surface is gummed or coated with-a suitable adhesive such as size, shellac, varnish or any other air-drying cement. The staples 2'swill thereby be caused to adhere to the strip 6 to hold them in position andacoating 'ofthe adhesive isthen and legs of the staples to cement them together at their contiguous edges. Y v Any; suitable gelatinous, resinous, glutinous ,or like viscous material may be employed for the cementitious coating agent and it .may be,,a1: plied with a brush, in a spray, or byfldipping the assembled staples therein. In some cases the staples may beheld on a rigid support or formerwhile being coatwith the cementing fluid, the" support being' removed after the cement hardens. It has been found however; that the tissue strip or band 6 serves adequately as an assembling-and supporting medium,- during the abut theglegs of the Q,

coating operationand besides acting'as a basis "for the cement makes forgr'eater convenience and facilityvin handling the staples.

Aft erthe staples have been treated in the manner'above' described andthe size or ,cementhasdried the projecting ends of the strip 6 are cutoff so that the paper is not evident;in'thecompleted package. The ,ce-

nienting fluid insinuate'slbetween the abutting edges of the staples andwhen dried and solidified provides a strong, tenacious binder, effectually uniting and amalgamating the individual staples in a single continuous body or strip. These strips may be conw disintegration and thus they provide a compact handy unit or'package for general use. The strips may be put up in convenient lengths for vending as refills for handst-apling machines and tackers, or they may be employed for loading wire-stapling machines, either as cartridges or in relatively long continuous belts.

\Vhen the staples areused in the machine in this form they feed to the setting-mechanism in a continuous row, and as the stapledriver descends on the individual staples fed therebeneath to drive theminto the work the cementitious bond holding the unit is broken by the blow of the driver without rupturing the connections between the other units.

As each staple is thus separated from the strip the paper 6 is sheared away, and since the paper or other tissue is thin and extremely frangible it does not impede the operation of the machine or materially affect the setting or clinching of the staple in the work.

Heretofore in the art it has in some cases been the practice to join the staples in a strip by means of lugs or bonds of metal extending between the individual units. This requires that the staples be spaced at a distance apart so that they cannot be 'arranged and held compactly. Furthermore, in this type of fastener the staples must be formed from sheet stock bentwand punched in dies, and therefore there isconsiderable waste of metal, while the. staples are otherwise more expensive to manufacture than those formed from wire. Moreover, this form of fastener does not have as neat and finished appearance as a wire staple because when out from the strip the connecting lugs are left moreor rough and are apt to tear the paper or to catch in other ()bJLClZS.

The usual method of packaging wire sta are discarded or thrown away when the staand more ples are applied to the machine so that they represent an economic loss and add to the cost of the staples.

lVith the present improved method of assembling or packaging the staples the units themselyes form the stick .or strip Without the use of a support or holder, and thus the package is much lighter in Weight, less bulky in size, more-economical to produce convenient-for packing and shipping. v v

lVhile I have herein described a preferred method of carrying out the packaging processand a preferred form of the package, it is to be understood that the steps in the process may be va'ricd, that different binding mediums may be employed for cementing the staples-together, and that the shape of the strip or package may be altered Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention} Moreover, the process may be applied to other types of fasteners than thatherein illustrated. Therefore, ivithout limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. As a new article of commerce, a staple package constituted by a strip of relatively thin sheet-material such as paper folded along its longitudinal edges to form downwardly extending marginal portions, a series of substantially U-shaped staples straddled across the top of the strip in contiguous relation with their sides'in contact, and a coating of adhesive applied over the staples to cement them in place while adapting the strip and'coating to be readily broken to allow the detachment of the individual stapleslas they are applied to the work.

as I

2. An improved method of packaging staples consisting in providing a strip of relatively thin. material such as paper folded along its longitudinal edges to provide down-turned marginal portions, placing a series of substantially U-shaped staples across the strip with their legs in straddled relation thereon and with their sides cont-iguous and closely abutting, and coating the staples with an adhesive to cement them to the strip and to secure them together in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described; i

'In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS A BRIGGS. 

